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Amoeba
Amoeba is a very large game of tag. There will be one
person "it" and everyone else needs to avoid that person.
Once the person tags one person they link arms and continue to
tag people. The amoeba will continue to grow until no one
is left.
Animal
Sounds
As the kids
walk in hand them a folded piece of paper with the name of an
animal on it (the amount of names, and the number of pieces with
the same name depends on number of teams, and how large you want
the teams to be), tell them not to look until you say to. When
everyone has arrived put them into a boundary (if your in a gym,
use the lines on the floor, if your on a field, use something
VERY visible to show your boundaries). Tell the kids that they
can't step out of the boundaries. Now, tell them that each piece
of paper holds a name of an animal and that there are so many
other people with the same name. Tell them that they have to act
out sounds and actions that would tell other team members that
they are part of their team, they are not allowed to speak any
words, only noises. Tell them to unfold their papers and go to
it. (Never have I ever heard my kids be so loud and laugh so
much!!!!)
Backpack Intro
This is like show and tell. Ahead
of time ask several kids to bring backpacks full of items that
describe themselves. Items could include pictures of friends,
trophies they have won, or a favorite CD. Using the items in
the backpack, have kids share about their lives and their
family. The first week you may want to start out by doing this
exercise yourself.
Been
There, Done That
Have students think of something
they have done fun or exciting. One at a time have the kids
come forward and share their experience. If no one else in the
group has done it, they get a point. If other people in the
group have done it they must stand up and say “Been there, done
that”. Allow the group to ask each person questions about
their experience. The person with the most points at the end of
the game wins.
Black light Volleyball
How to Play:
We will play volleyball with several beach balls. We will play
volleyball under a lot of black lights.
Bible
Scavenger Hunt
BIBLE SCAVENGER
HUNT: Teams of 3-6 try to find items in the church with a list
of Bible clues. Each item needs two verses for the clue - one
that hints at the room, another that names (generally) the item.
For instance, for the pulpit we had a verse with the word
"sanctuary" and one with the word "altar." For a phone in the
3rd grade classroom, we had a verse with the word "three" in it
and a verse with the word "bell." (Or something to that effect)
Then we had a post-it note hidden in or under the item so the
kids knew when they found it. I don't know if this is original,
but I made up our version of it.
Blob
The Blob begins
innocently enough as a mere individual playing a game of tag. As
soon as she catches someone, she joins hands with him. Now he's
part of the Blob, too, and they both set out hand-in-hand in
search of victims. Everyone the Blob catches (only the outside
hand on either end of the Blob can snatch at players) joins
hands with it and becomes part of the lengthening protoplasmic
chain. And thus the insidious Blob keeps growing. Unlike your
run-of-the-mill mad scientist created Blobs, this one is not
content merely to ooze along, seeking its prey. It gallops
around the field, cornering stray runners and forcing them to
join up. (You'll have to agree on boundaries for this game; some
people will go to any lengths to avoid meeting with an untimely
end at the hands of the primordial slime).
Moreover, the
Blob can split itself into parts and, with its superior communal
intelligence, organize raiding parties on the lone few who have
managed to escape. The thrilling climax occurs when there's only
one player left to put up a heroic last-ditch stand on behalf of
humanity. But alas, there is no defense against the Blob, and
humanity succumbs. (If that seems unfair, well, that's the
plot.)
Body Part
Musical Chairs
Have everyone
form a big circle of chairs with the chairs facing outward.
Remove one chair. Have music ready. When the music starts
everyone must walk around the chairs (it's also fun if you make
them jog).
When the music
stops, a caller yells out a body part. Then everyone races to
touch that body part to a chair, one person per chair only. If
they touch a chair before the body part is called, they are out.
The one person who doesn't get a chair is also out.
To speed it up,
you can remove more chairs. We usually start out simple - nose,
hair, left elbow, etc. but towards the end we get more
complicated - your bare feet, someone else's left hand (they
must grab one of the people who are already out). The object is
to be the last one left.
Centipede Wars
How to Play: Each team will get in a line and put their hands
on the team member’s shoulders in front of them. Therefore,
hopefully looking like a centipede. Then the kids that make the
front of the centipede have their hands free to throw dodgeballs.
The centipede can dwindle down when either the person in the
front or then end of the centipede is hit.
Crazy Apples
How to Play: Each team member will be given a number within his
or her group. Once their number is called they will run against
all the other team members with that same number to get a noodle
in the middle of the room. Points will be given for certain
colors of the noodles.
Double Dare
(Gross)
Another one
that's been fun (even with the setup [and cleanup] involved...
It's based on
the old TV show "Double-Dare" -- you set up an obstacle course
for the teams to do kind of a tag-team thing. The object is to
find your teams flags throughout the obstacle course and be the
first ones to pin them on the youth pastor.
The typical
things for the obstacle course are going over/under chairs,
running through tires, etc. The fun starts when they have to dig
for their flag in a huge bowl of cheap dog food mixed with water
(and left standing for about 1/2 hour), dig through vats of
solidified Jell-O, (even modify the bobbing for marshmallows to
hold the flags for a team), have balloons covered in whipped
cream that must be popped to get the flag, etc.
We've set it up
with 4 flags per team (so there were 4 students on a team). On
the word "Go" the first person completes part of the course and
digs through the dog food until they find their team's flag,
then they run back to the starting line, and the second person
completes part of the course (having to dig in the Jell-O for
the flag. They run back and the third person goes. Once all 4
flags have been found they must attach them to the youth pastor.
Elbow Tag
Everyone splits
off into two and finds a space within the play area. They then
link arms. The youth leader picks a twosome as volunteers! One
member of the twosome is IT and the other runs from IT. This
works like a normal game of chasing except that the person who
is running can grab the free arm of any person in any other
twosome at any point they like. When they do this they become a
part of the twosome and the original member of the twosome who
was not grabbed must now run from IT and try and link up with
another twosome. If IT catches the victim, then the victim
becomes IT and It becomes the victim and must run and link up
with another group.
Everybody's
"IT" Tag
This game is
like regular tag only everyone is "it". Everyone runs around
trying to tag everyone else. When you're tagged, you sit down.
The object is to be the last person left standing.
Faith
Related
Here are a
couple of "faith related activities" and cool examples and stuff
to do with a program on faith.
1) Do a "trust
fall" where someone stands in front of you or another leader
with eyes closed and arms straight out to the side and has to
fall back, without stepping back, and has to have faith that you
will catch them. Practice a couple of times to get the feel for
it and to make sure you can be there to make the catch. Be
reassuring so that they can have faith in you. It's a hard thing
for the person in front to do. Follow it up with talk about
having faith in God to catch you.
2) Tell the
story of the guy that was a huge fan of a acrobatic tightrope
walker at the circus. (I'll give you the quick version. feel
free to embellish and ham it up a little.) He went every
Saturday night to see him and cheer him on. Every Saturday, the
acrobat would yell down something from the tightrope like "Do
you think that I can walk backwards across the rope?" The guy
below would ecstatically yell, "Yes... Yes... You are the
best!!! You can do it!!!" And the acrobat would do just that.
Every Saturday, the acrobat would yell down a new challenge, the
guy below would yell back his support and overwhelming faith
that the acrobat could do it. Then the acrobat would do it.
Finally, one night, the acrobat yelled down, "Do you think I can
push someone across this tightrope in a wheelbarrow?" "Yes!!!
Yes!!! I know that you can do it!!!! You're the best!!!" yelled
the man... The acrobat yelled back down ... "Then come on up
here and hop in..." (Follow up this little ditty with some talk
on the difference in saying that you "have faith" and really
having faith in God. Challenge them to think "Am I willing to
keep that faith when I am put to the test?")
3) Job would be
a great cross reference for faith in hard times.
4) Show the
last part of "Indiana Jones - The Last Crusade" ("heads up" on
that copyright jazz) where Indy has to step out onto the
invisible "Bridge of Faith" and walk across it. It's not exactly
the most theological footage, but really draws the kids in.
Follow it up with talk on having faith that God provides where
he says that he will. My kids loved watching this. Just be sure
to start showing it AFTER the part where that dude's face melts
off. That can really gross some kids out and could distract a
tad. I know that I always get a little distracted when someone
around me has their face melt off.
Faith
Related 2
You need a
strong 2x4 or similar that will not break when a kid stands on
it. Send some of your youth out of the room and fill in the rest
of the youth on what you will be doing. Have two to four of the
strongest youth get on the ends of the 2x4 and hold the 2x4
about 6 inches off the ground. One at a time let the youth in
and lead them over to the 2x4 blind fold them and have them step
onto the 2x4 while holding onto your head for balance. Now tell
him/her to jump off of the 2x4. Now have them step back onto the
2x4 and tell them that you are going to have the youth on the
end of the 2x4's to raise the 2x4. Now the youth on the end of
the 2x4's will kind of shake the ends like they are raising it
while you bend your knees so that the person blind folded thinks
that the 2x4 is really being raised. Now tell him/her to jump.
The main principle behind this is that our faith in God is not a
blind faith. I hope this is what you where looking for.
Find the Worm
Find the gummy worms in the pie pan full of whip cream. If you
can find a jelly bean it is worth ? points.
Flying Wombats
How to Play: Each team will be given a certain territory in the
room. They will have several cones to protect from being
knocked over by other groups, while they try to knock other
groups over. We will use dodgeballs to play, but you can only
roll them. No throwing is allowed.
Fruit Relay
Use the potato in your basket and pass it to one another using
only your chin.
Getting to Know You Games
1.
JUST LIKE ME!
The family
leaders will ask a question. The kids will have 10 seconds to
yell out the answer and form a group with others who are yelling
out the same answer. When they have formed their smaller groups
– have them introduce themselves within that small group. If a
camper does not find a “match” - allow them to ask the next
question. Below are a few questions to get you started:
·
What’s your favorite kind of sandwich?
·
What’s your favorite subject in school?
·
What’s your favorite vacation spot?
·
What’s your favorite movie?
·
What’s the best menu item at McDonald’s?
·
What kind of car would you like to have?
·
What kind of pet do you wish you had?
2.
I’VE GOT A SECRET
Have the kids
find a partner within your family. Every camper will think of a
secret – nothing too personal – rather just a fun fact about
themselves. (Like weird foods, or middle names, or birthplaces)
By asking “yes
or no” questions, partners will figure out the other’s secret –
then switch roles. When everyone is finished, they will take
turns introducing each other. Example – “This is my partner
Chris, and his secret is that he was born in England.”
3.
HUMAN BINGO
This game will
be played with all of the families together. The kids will have
to find people who can fill in the spaces on their bingo cards.
ONLY ONE PERSON PER SPACE AND A PERSON MAY ONLY SIGN EACH CARD
ONCE. The object of this is to complete the entire card.
Download Human Bingo Sheet
Giddy Plungers
How to Play:
It is a team relay where each child will spin around a plunger 5
times and then run around a cone holding a soccer ball in the
plunger. If the ball falls out they have to start over. First
team done wins.
Glowstick Foosball
Try this one on
for size. It is called "Glowstick Foosball". It is ideal for
latenight or lock-ins and retreats.
- It can be
played with any size group 10 - 100.
- You will need
1 - 4" glowstick for every 3-4 people.
- Position the
players in the same configuration as the table-top foosball
game.
- Players are
stationary within a reasonable stretch of their seat or on their
knees.
- The objective
is for players to maneuver the glowstick to there goal by
sliding them from player to player. At times players are offense
or defense depending on if they happen to control a glowstick or
not.
- The glowstick
cannot be thrown over a 4" level.
- Scoring is
whatever you choose i.e. 1 pt. per goal. The goal consists of an
8 ft. table laid on its side. The glowstick can hit any of the
surface area to score.
- People needed
to assist are sideline refs. to keep track of penalties i.e.
throwing glowsticks over 4", players out their playing zone,
etc.; score keepers; and timer, this person can use the length
of tunes as playing periods or can use traditional clock.
- There are by
no means hard fast rules short of fun times and good
sportsmanship. The typical game will take 1 hour, this includes
setup and game instruction.
- One very
important tip is to have all available lighting turned off. This
makes the game incredibly fun with only the light sticks being
seen.
Hula Hoop Relay
How many hula hoops can you put around your team mate. The most
hula hoops wins. Each team gets two hula hoops and 2 minutes to
get as many hula hoops around your partner as you can.
Jello Pudding Relay
Each kid gets a straw and in one breath they get as much jello
pudding as they can until the pudding is gone.
Knots
Get 5 - 9 kids in a circle and have them reach across and grab
other's hands. They cannot grab their own hand no can they be
holding both hands of someone else (i.e. each hand is holding
someone else's hand). Then they have to un-tangle themselves
without letting go. I can always be done so don't let them give
up.
Make a Beard
One team member puts shaving cream on while the other team
member tries to put as many cheetos on the beard as possible.
The most cheetos wins.
Name on the Back Game
Put different names on pieces of paper and tape on to each
person's back. They can follow a theme, like Biblical names or
cartoon characters or whatever. Then everyone has to go around
asking yes or no questions of other people in order to find out
what name is on their back.
Sardines
Kind of like
Hide and Seek, but in reverse. To start, ONE person hides as the
rest wait for 1 min. or so, and then everyone goes out looking
for him/her. When someone finds the person who is hiding, he/she
must hide there too. This continues until all have found the
person who is "it." The first person to find the one who was
"it" hides in the next game. Lots of fun because everyone is
jammed up together trying to hide and keep out of sight!
Skate Away
This
is a relay race down to the cones and back using the skateboard.
Skate down to the cone turn around and pass the skateboard to
the next in line.
Three Truths and a Lie
Have the kids tell four facts about
themselves. Three of them must be true and one must be false.
After they have told their four things about themselves have the
kids guess which one is false.
Toilet Paper relay
Over and under if it breaks you have to start over.
Tossed Salad
Have students sit in a circle of
chairs facing inward, one chair for each person sitting down.
Have one student stand in the middle who must make statements
like: if you are wearing red. Everyone that is wearing red must
get up and find a new seat. The person who cannot find a seat
is the next person to make a statement. If the person in the
middle says tossed salad, everyone must get up and find a new
seat.
Triangle Tag
Three of the
four people hold hands. The loose person is "IT". One person of
the three has to be tagged. The triangle of three runs and spins
to keep that person from being tug. "IT" tries to reach across
or run around the other two to tag the third person.
Wacky Way
How to Play: Each team will break up into their own groups and
will choose a different runner for each round we play. We will
yell out objects that the “runner” needs to bring up front. An
example might be a sock. Points will be given to the teams the
fastest.
What did you say?
Team
members fill there mouths with marshmallows and try and say a
tongue twister. Who ever is the most audible wins.
Wild
Bananas
How to Play: There will be one team in the middle with all
other teams around them. The teams on the outside will roll the
balls in the middle and when a team member from the middle is
hit they are out. We will time each team and give them points
according to how long they stay in the middle. It's like 4
corner dodgeball, but with one team in the middle.
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